Bearing assemblies are well known and are commonly used to support shafts, axles and other rotating components that may be present in various types of industrial equipment, vehicles and other machinery. Such bearing assemblies often include seals to form barriers in order to preclude the entry of external contaminants into the bearings and also to preclude lubricants from escaping from within the bearings. These seals each typically include a flexible seal portion. In some cases, the seals include multiple components, wherein one or more of the components rotate with the shaft and other components remain static.
There are certain difficulties that must be addressed with seals that include both rotating and non-rotating components, as metal-on-metal contact between the components can lead to friction and wear. When this occurs, the seal may become damaged or destroyed resulting in a bearing failure. Unfortunately, the replacement of a damaged seal and/or bearing can be difficult, time-consuming and usually results in an extended period of down time during which the machinery is out of service.
Thus, a need exists for a bearing assembly in which rotating metallic components are not in contact with non-rotating metallic components of the assembly. A further need exists for a means for axially locating and retaining one or more of the components of a multi-component seal once the seal has been installed into the bearing assembly.